Friday, July 31, 2015

Synopsis

Anais Hendricks, fifteen, is in the back of a police car. She is headed for the Panopticon, a home for chronic young offenders. She can't remember what’s happened, but across town a policewoman lies in a coma and Anais’s school uniform is covered in blood.

Raised in foster care from birth and moved through twenty-three placements before she even turned seven, Anais has been let down by just about every adult she has ever met. Now a counter-culture outlaw, she knows that she can only rely on herself. And yet despite the parade of horrors visited upon her early life, she greets the world with the witty, fierce insight of a survivor.

Anais finds a sense of belonging among the residents of the Panopticon – they form intense bonds, and she soon becomes part of an ad hoc family. Together, they struggle against the adults that keep them confined. When she looks up at the watchtower that looms over the residents though, Anais knows her fate: she is an anonymous part of an experiment, and she always was. Now it seems that the experiment is closing in.

What Did I Think About the Book?

I was first drawn to The Panopticon after reading the synopsis. Right after college I worked with "troubled" kids, first as a Mental Health Associate in a Behavioral Health Center and then as a Behavioral Specialist at an alternative school, and Anais sounded like many of the kids I came into contact with during those years. I worked with kids that had experienced unspeakable childhoods and some that did horrible things, but what I learned from all of them was that each had learned how to survive and cope with the world they lived in the best they could. Many had been let down, time and time again, by those adults and institutions that were supposed to help them and keep them safe and were therefore incredibly suspicious of any that came into their lives. How could anyone blame them for that? This aspect of the story, combined with the mystery of whether or not Anais had harmed the policewoman and what part "the experiment" played in the whole thing, drew me in. While I can't say all my questions were answered by the last page I can say this character-driven story was powerful and heartbreaking, and important reading for anyone trying to understand the mind of children let down by the same society that views them as the problem. I purchased The Panopticon as an eBook/audiobook combo but ended up listening to the audiobook for the majority of the story. The narrator (Gayle Madine) has a very heavy British accent and this, combined with the profuse slang used, made it difficult at first to keep up with what was happening. Once I got used to this, however, I really enjoyed the inflections and feelings she put into the story. Even with the heavy subject matter being discussed, the lives of these young offenders are infused with humor and love that felt very real and made me hope they would somehow all come out the other side of their tangled young lives happy and healthy (which, of course, is not realistic). While some readers might find the slang, heavy cursing, violent actions and drug use discussed a turnoff, I think it was completely necessary to present this world of damaged and neglected children as realistically as possible. The majority of the story takes place in Anais's head, which is an interesting perspective as it makes some aspects very fanciful or gritty while also making some of what she tells us unreliable. As the synopsis points out, Anais has been moved around from one home to another since she was a baby and she has developed a long list of habits and rituals to help her cope and control what she can, as I imagine most children in her situation would do. Anais is a remarkable character, clever and sensitive (about certain things at least) but also cynical and desensitized given her experiences. I spent much of the story going back and forth between believing she had severe mental issues - with her believing she is part of an experiment where she is constantly watched and manipulated by unseen people that want to see her locked up for life, panic attacks were she sees faces on the walls and feels like she is shrinking, her inability to remember what happened at the time the policewoman was beaten so badly she ends up in a coma - and feeling like she had a better handle on this world than most adults do. She's caring, abusive, generous, selfish...in other words she is a complex and flawed person like everyone else. It isn't often I come across a character that is as destructive as Anais and that I wholeheartedly cheer for nonetheless, but that is exactly what happened.My only real issue with The Panopticon was the author's failure to wrap up the various threads she started in the story. Two of the main aspects - the policewoman in a coma and the experiment tracking Anais - sort of drifted off by the end. The reader isn't given any concrete answers to either issue and this made the drama and mystery just sort of deflate for me. There are other more minor threads, like the disappearance of a fellow Panopticon resident and the fate of Anais's incarcerated boyfriend that used her in a most horrible way, that are left unresolved as well. The fate of Anais herself is left somewhat unresolved and, while I can see that the author is leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions, I would have preferred a little more resolution when it came to the future of these captivating characters.Author Jenni Fagan clearly knows how to get inside the heads and hearts of young people who are forced to cope with things that no human should have to cope with and I think she presents these mistreated and neglected children perfectly. The family that develops at the Panopticon is remarkable and I absolutely loved spending time with them. While I would have preferred more concrete resolutions, those readers that enjoy drawing their own conclusions will revel in the material given. I won't soon forget Anais or her compatriots and I will definitely watch for more novels by Ms. Fagan.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

It does absolutely nothing for me. I'm honestly not even sure what it's meant to represent.My Rating: 3.5/5.0

In a multigenerational saga of love, war and betrayal, Captain Blackwell and Mercedes continue their voyage in Volume III of Blackwell’s Adventures. The Blackwell family’s eventful journey from England to Hawaii, by way of the new and tempestuous nations of Brazil and Chile, provides an intimate portrait of family conflicts and loyalties in the late Georgian Age. Blackwell’s Homecoming is an evocation of the dangers and rewards of desire.

Praise for V.E. Ulett's Blackwell's Adventures Series

“This entire trilogy has lots of adventure, lots of romance, and lots of wonderful settings that will thrill any historical fiction reader.” – Meg Wessel, A Bookish Affair

“A real pleasure to read, this book can stand alone, although I recommend reading the previous volumes to see additional development of the main characters.” – Jeff Westerhoff, Historical Novels Review

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About the Author﻿

A long time resident of California, V.E. Ulett is an avid reader as well as writer of historical fiction. Proud to be an Old Salt Press author, V.E. is also a member of the National Books Critics Circle and an active member and reviewer for the Historical Novel Society.

Eighteenth and nineteenth century journals and letters inspired the writing of CAPTAIN BLACKWELL’S PRIZE. The sequels takes Captain Blackwell and Mercedes to the far side of the world, on new personal and cultural adventures. Coming soon from V.E. Ulett, a historical adventure with a fantastic edge.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Please join me in welcoming back to A Literary Vacation author Ekta Garg, who's newest book, Two for the Road, was recently published! She's also got a special surprise for readers so make sure to read all about Two for the Road and continue to the bottom of the post for more information.

Publisher:
Prairie Sky Publishing

Publication
date: Smashwords, June 30, 2015/Amazon, July 7, 2015

Length: 60 pages

Ah,
summer. Long days full of warm sunshine and one of the most popular times to
travel. But what happens when something throws your travel plans off course?

The
First Story, “Excess Baggage”: Allison has just come home from a grueling
business trip. All she wants to do is spend a quiet weekend at home parked in
front of the TV or maybe curled up with a blanket. When a friend calls to ask
her for a favor, though, all of Allison’s plans hit rough air.

The Second Story, “Wrong Way”: With one
daughter married and another in college, Rachel and Jim should be enjoying
their time as a couple again. But Jim’s worries about his widowed mother force
Rachel into a spur-of-the-moment road trip to check on the old bat. When Jim
catches Rachel complaining to a friend, tension will ride with them in the car.
Can Rachel make an apology stick?

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About the Author ﻿

Ekta
R. Garg’s love affair with words began at the age of 4, and by the age of 8 she
was writing poetry and short essays. In elementary school she participated in a
word junkie's ultimate past time: spelling bees. She won the South Carolina state
title four times, the regional title once, and competed in two national level
competitions, including the 1993 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Her
love for spelling supplemented her love for writing. Ekta was the co-editor

of
her high school yearbook for her junior and senior years. In college she worked
briefly for the University of South Carolina campus literary magazine, The Garnet and Black, and in 2002 she
got her MSJ in magazine publishing from the Medill School of Journalism at
Northwestern University.

Since
the start of her career in 2005 Ekta has edited and written about everything
from health care to home improvement to Hindi films. She has written for and
edited: The Portland Physician Scribe,
Portland, Oregon’s premier medical newspaper; show magazines for home tours
organized by the Portland Home Builders Association; ABCDlady.com; The
Bollywood Ticket; The International Indian; and the annual anthologies
published by the Avondale Inkslingers, based in Avondale, Arizona.

A
year later, in 2011, Ekta stepped off the ledge and became a freelancer. She
edits short stories and novels for other writers, contributing to their writing
dreams. She is also a part-time editor for aois21, and she posts her book
reviews on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Bookpleasures.com.

When
she's not writing, Ekta is a domestic engineer—known in the vernacular as a
“housewife.”She’s married, has two
energetic daughters who keep her running, and she divides her time between
keeping house and fulfilling her writing dreams on a regular basis.

To find out more
about Ekta’s publishing goals and plans or to get in touch with her about
editing your work or reviewing your book, visit her at The Write Edge.

Free Book Alert!!

Ekta is offering readers a free book!

Get
a free Stories in Pairs book! Go to Goodreads by following THIS LINK, click on
“Download eBook”, and enjoy a special bonus book absolutely free!

August 1565: When a rival artisan turns up dead outside Ginjiro’s brewery, and all the evidence implicates the brewer, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo must find the killer before the magistrate executes Ginjiro and seizes the brewery, leaving his wife and daughter destitute. A missing merchant, a vicious debt collector, and a female moneylender join Ginjiro and the victim’s spendthrift son on the suspect list. But with Kyoto on alert in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, a rival shinobi on the prowl, and samurai threatening Hiro and Father Mateo at every turn, Ginjiro’s life is not the only one in danger.

Will Hiro and Father Mateo unravel the clues in time to save Ginjiro’s life, or will the shadows gathering over Kyoto consume the detectives as well as the brewer?

Flask of the Drunken Master is the latest entry in Susan Spann’s thrilling 16th century Japanese mystery series, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and Jesuit Father Mateo.

Praise for Claws of the Cat

“Spann matches period detail with a well-developed whodunit plot in her promising debut, the first in a new series set in 16th-century Japan.”

Shinobi Mystery Series Titles

Book One: Claws of the Cat (Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month) Book Two: Blade of the Samurai Book Three: Flask of the Drunken Master

Buy Flask of the Drunken Master

About the Author

Susan Spann acquired her love of books and reading during her preschool days in Santa Monica, California. As a child she read everything from National Geographic to Agatha Christie. In high school, she once turned a short-story assignment into a full-length fantasy novel (which, fortunately, will never see the light of day).

A yearning to experience different cultures sent Susan to Tufts University in Boston, where she immersed herself in the history and culture of China and Japan. After earning an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies, Susan diverted to law school. She returned to California to practice law,

where her continuing love of books has led her to specialize in intellectual property, business and publishing contracts.

Susan’s interest in Japanese history, martial arts, and mystery inspired her to write the Shinobi Mystery series featuring Hiro Hattori, a sixteenth-century ninja who brings murderers to justice with the help of Father Mateo, a Portuguese Jesuit priest. When not writing or representing clients, Susan enjoys traditional archery, martial arts, horseback riding, online gaming, and raising seahorses and rare corals in her highly distracting marine aquarium. Susan lives in Sacramento with her husband, son, three cats, one bird, and a multitude of assorted aquatic creatures.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Synopsis

A stunning debut novel of historical fiction set in the forgotten world of New York City’s Jewish orphanages.

In 1919, four-year-old Rachel Rabinowitz is placed in the Hebrew Infant Home where Dr. Mildred Solomon is conducting medical research on the children. Dr. Solomon subjects Rachel to an experimental course of X-ray treatments that establish the doctor’s reputation while risking the little girl’s health. Now it’s 1954, and Rachel is a nurse in the hospice wing of the Old Hebrews Home when elderly Dr. Solomon becomes her patient. Realizing the power she holds over the helpless doctor, Rachel embarks on a dangerous experiment of her own design. Before the night shift ends, Rachel will be forced to choose between forgiveness and revenge.

Inspired by true events, Orphan #8 is a powerful novel about the human capacity to harm—and to love.

What Did I Think About the Story?

Being as big a fan of historical fiction, nonfiction and movies and TV shows centered somehow around history as I am, I tend to slip into the belief from time to time that I've read or heard it all about most aspects of history. That being said, I'm always delightfully surprised when I come across a book that talks about an aspect of history I have never even heard of before. When I read the synopsis of Orphan # 8 I knew this book fit the bill and was one that I needed to read. I'm happy to say the book satisfied my need to learn more about this time and place in history and presented a narrator in a specific set of circumstances I can't imagine coming across again.

First and foremost, my heart ached for Rachel. If something could befall a person it seemed to happen to her. From the horrific circumstances that left her and her brother Sam orphans to her being placed at such a young age in a separate orphanage from Sam - an orphanage where she became "material" for the doctors' experiments that lead to a plethora of medical issues - to being reunited with her brother and then separated, time and again, from him....if it could have happened it seemed to happen to her. Her entire life was a struggle with loneliness, health issues, abandonment issues and so much more. Is it any wonder that, when placed face-to-face again, now as an adult, with the doctor that was the catalyst to so many of her issues, that her myriad of emotions that had built up over the years concentrated into anger and revenge towards this one cruel, uncaring woman? Not in my mind!

The structure of the story - alternating chapters that either told Rachel's history or showed Rachel confronting Dr. Solomon and deciding what to do with her newfound control over the woman - was at first slightly confusing. There are no date indicators at the beginning of each chapter to assist the reader in knowing when and where the next chapter is going to take place and it is only once the reader dives in that they are able to use context clues to figure it out. Once the alternating chapters became a pattern it was easier to figure out and actually helped keep suspense within the two storylines building, but in the beginning especially I would have preferred that time indicator noted at the beginning of the chapter as is often done in historical fiction that goes back and forth in time.

An aspect of the story I was not expecting was the romantic relationship between Rachel and her friend and lover Naomi. Including this aspect, which showed in historical context how unaccepted this relationship was at the time and the isolation and danger that came with it, was a perfect addition to the other threads of Rachel's life that caused the feelings of loneliness and isolation that built over her lifetime and affected the woman she became. I could not help wishing Rachel and Naomi could be happy and open about their love and feeling like this might have, at least in part, helped Rachel to heal from much of the trauma she experienced as a child, but I also appreciate the author's adherence to historical fact and her willingness to show how hard it was for these women to live and love in a time they just weren't accepted in.

Overall I think Orphan # 8 is an exceptionally fascinating story. Rachel is unique and brave and admirable for surviving the life she was handed as well as for what she fought to build within that life. While I don't necessarily believe Rachel got the ending she deserved I think the ending was very realistic and did have touches of hope and better things to come. The author also includes an expansive "About the Book" section at the end that gives an in depth look at the real history behind the story and how that history is connected to the author herself and this served to expand my appreciation of the story and the history even more. I would definitely recommend the book to any historical fiction lover who is looking for something different from the everyday and a heroine unlike any they have likely come across before.

What Did I Think About the Cover?

I like it a lot! The colors and texture remind me of an old photograph and the decision to leave out the little girl's face but show her full shadow really helps highlight the idea that these children were little more than shadows to many people they came into contact with. Their identities, in large part, were stolen from them and they were often treated like just another number. The solitary figure with her little battered suitcase is quite a sad and lonely picture as well. I think it fits the storyline of Rachel's childhood very well.

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me with a free copy of Orphan Number Eight in exchange for an honest review! Be sure to continue below for information on the author, the blog tour and where you can grab your own copy!

About the Author

Kim van Alkemade was born in New York. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in literary journals including Alaska Quarterly Review, So to Speak, and CutBank. She teaches writing at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Publication Date: September 2014 Mystic Harbor Press Formats: Ebook, PaperbackGenre: YA/New Adult/Adventure/Suspense/Historical Age: Young Adult, New Adult
In 1845 200 gold coins were minted to commemorate Texas’ entry into the United States. Slated to be given to all major players that helped Texas into the Union, the coins were loaded onto a wagon on a rainy night, near Dallas, Texas and never seen again. Over a century later, traces of the coins resurface, after a couple of kids stumble upon what appeared to be one, in a Southeast Texas creek. News of the find reach Parks Leslie and Stan Atcher, treasure hunters and historians, always looking for their next big find, and long-time seekers of these coins. Parks and Stan’s interest proves to be an unexpected journey, tangled with blood history ties, new friendships and near-death experiences, calling for sacrifices no one could have predicted.

Official Book Trailer

Buy the Book

About the Author

﻿

Jason Bradshaw has had a passion for adventure, history and writing for most of his life; culminating in the writing of his first novel, Beneath Creek Waters. Besides writing numerous articles for various newsletters and publications, Bradshaw is currently completing his second installment to his novel series, titled Beneath Gulf Waters, after which he will begin work for a new series, The Hobbyist, to be completed in 2015. Bradshaw has also co-written two screenplays in conjunction with Todd

Rodgers, titled Red Eye and Shadow Ops.

Bradshaw is an avid diver, enjoys flying, hiking, surfing and has a general love for the outdoors. He currently resides in Texas with his wife and two young sons.

Doctor Margaret in Delhi is Book 2 of The Azadi Series and a sequel to, Book 1: Doctor Margaret’s Sea Chest. This historical fiction novel continues with Margaret’s journey from the time she and her Canadian husband participated in the 1854 Crimean War.

Doctor Margaret travels alone to India to be with her parents at the American Presbyterian Mission at Futtehgurh, and then on to her posting at a hospital in Delhi. There she has to not only overcome work pressures, but also deal with her intimidators and intrigues of the Mughals, at the Delhi Red Fort.

Margaret’s tormenter since her childhood, Captain Albert, also joins a British regiment bound for service in India. The Russian, Captain Count Nicholai, whom Margaret had met in Crimea, also arrives in India under the guise of a French physician. The events leading up to the Indian Mutiny/Rebellion that breaks out in 1857 profoundly affect not only Margaret’s life, but also of those who love her and others’ who wish her harm. Also, mixed-up in the bedlam is one of the Delhi King, Shah Zafar’s, Red Fort’s Guards sepoys, Sharif Khan Bhadur, the grandfather of Doctor Wallidad, an American doctor.

The Azadi Series covers the exciting events and turmoil that enflamed India from 1857 to 1947, and led to her independence. Those incidences engulf the characters of this story at that time, and then later their descendant’s lives, again in the 1960s.

Praise for Doctor Margaret in Delhi

“I have both traveled extensively in India, as well as have researched both past- and present-day India. I found this novel to be not only entertaining, but quite accurate in its portrayal of a highly complex and constantly evolving country. Margaret is an impressive heroine who must navigate this landscape, and deal with men who don’t have her bests interests at heart. I would definitely recommend this well-written novel. I learned from it, and I enjoyed it.” – 5-star Amazon review by Read More Books

“Excellent historical fictional setting, voice and tone. Not my normal reading diet, but your voice is compelling. Overall impression: it seems to be a novel one may settle into and relax for a delightful journey–(Spoiler alert) with a cobra and lots of new Indian vocabulary in store. Interesting bit about Robert Clive and the East India Company. Seems it’s a story that should be told.” – J.T.Bleu

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About the Author

Waheed Rabbani was born in India, close to Delhi, and was introduced to Victorian and other English novels, at a very young age, in his father’s library. Most of the large number of volumes had been purchased by his father at ‘garage sales’ held, by departing British civil service officers, in the last days of the Raj.
Waheed attended St. Patrick’s High School in Karachi, Pakistan. He graduated from Loughborough
University, Leicestershire, England, and received a Master’s degree from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. While an engineer by profession, Waheed’s other love is reading and writing English literature, which led him to obtain a Certificate in Creative Writing from McMaster University and start on his fiction writing journey.

Waheed and his wife, Alexandra, are now settled on the shores of Lake Ontario in the historic town of Grimsby. More information is available on his website.

We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don’t know her true story.

We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva’s ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for ‘peeping Tom’) and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax.

Naked is an original version of Godiva’s tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva. A tale of legendary courage and extraordinary passion, Naked brings an epic story new voice.

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Advance Praise

“Redgold’s variation on this enticing legend is often lyrical and offers a satisfying blend of history, lore, and romance.” (Booklist)

“Breathes new life into the story of the woman who would stop at nothing to protect her land and people.” (Romantic Times)

“NAKED delivers far more than the famous ride of Lady Godiva. It’s a beautifully woven story of love, loyalty, and the determination of a young woman trying to protect her people and their way of life, no matter the price. Godiva is a wonderfully strong woman in an age of dangerous men, and in NAKED, she certainly meets her match!” (Amalia Carosella, author of HELEN OF SPARTA)

“A wonderful, romantic retelling of the Lady Godiva legend. There is the colorful Anglo-Saxon backdrop, warriors, battles, peacemaking, desire, revenge and love – everything a fan of medieval romance could desire – plus a strong-willed heroin. Written with a lyrical lilt to her prose, Redgold adds realism to the myth and love to the lusty tale, allowing readers a glimpse into what might have been.” (RT Book Reviews)

About the Author

ELIZA REDGOLD is based upon the old, Gaelic meaning of her name, Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd. English folklore has it that if you help a fairy, you will be rewarded with red gold. She has presented
academic papers on women and romance and is a contributor to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. As a non-fiction author she is co-author of Body Talk: a Power Guide for Girls and Stay-at-Home Mothers: Dialogues and Debates. She was born in Irvine, Scotland on Marymass Day and currently lives in Australia.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Publication Date: April 14, 2015 Books We Love Ltd. Formats: eBook, Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1771454193Series: Curse of the Lost Isle Series, Book Six Genre: Historical Romance
1096 AD – To redeem a Pagan curse, Palatina the Fae braves the Christian world to embark on an expedition to free the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem from the Turks. Pierre de Belfort, Christian Knight of Lorraine, swore never to let a woman rule his life, and doesn’t believe in love. Thrown together into the turmoil of the First Crusade, on a sacred journey to a land of fables, they must learn to trust each other. For in this war, the true enemy is not human… and discovery could mean burning at the stake.

Praise for Beloved Crusader

“Ms. Schartz’s writing is spot on – it’s tight and flows well, there are no superfluous passages. It’s a pleasure to read excellent writing. Her descriptions are perfect to the mood and moment, with exact word choices. Plotting and characterization were excellent as well and kept me reading. Thank you for the wonderful escape!” 5-stars on Amazon

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About the Author

Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world
and claims to also travel through time, as she writes without boundaries about the future and the far away past. Her love of cats transpires in many of her books… and she has more than twenty-five novels published. Her stories collected numerous five star reviews and a few literary awards.